Among the various issues raised by the exhaust gases from turbo-supercharged diesel engines should be highlighted, for the purposes of the present invention, those related to the cleaning of carbon particles, recirculation to the engine intake and those concerning the use of their energy.
In the prior art are known several proposals for cleaning the exhaust gases of Diesel engines before discharging to the atmosphere both in relation to the removal of pollutant particles that contain carbon and hydrocarbons and to the reduction of the content of nitrogen oxides.
As for the removal of pollutant particles different proposals that use different types of filters are known. One is described in the patent EP 0 823 545 using particle filters, and other is described in patent ES 2155646 particularly using ‘collection by shock’ type filter, wherein the holes of the mesh have a greater size than the particles and which only trap the particles colliding with the walls of the mesh.
As for the reduction of the content of nitrogen oxides is well known the technique, generally referenced with the initials EGR, for recirculating at least a fraction of the exhaust gases towards the engine intake duct, knowing several concrete proposals both relating to the design of the recirculation loop and to the regulation and control of gas flow that is recirculated.
Finally, various proposals for using the energy of the exhaust gases in the turbogenerators of supercharged engines are also known.
While the prior art provides effective solutions for each individual issue mentioned above, the automotive industry continually requires effective solutions to the problems identified in a whole requiring a proper balance between the energy loss that inevitably occurs in any process for cleaning exhaust gases and the desirable degree of utilization of the energy of the exhaust gases into the turbogenerator.
The present invention is directed to meeting that requirement.